under run heels

Hello Don! Thank you for the articles you write! You are much more informative than my own farrier which is why I am writing to you now. I have a mix of a few gaited horses and a few trotting horses. One of each has hooves with no heel at all. Their bulbs touch the ground every time they step. Of course they are sensitive to gravel so we have to keep them shod. My farrier says it can be corrected to a certain extent, but over 2 years of work from him, I don't see any change. Can this be sorted out or not?



Jessica

I am always rather cautious as to what I can or cannot correct. Sometimes I believe something can be corrected but, may not consider myself the right one for the job, so I usually bring in another qualified farrier to confer with. Regarding your concern with low or "under run" heels, in my history of dealing with this issue, I more often than not go with the belief that this problem comes from the animal’s genetics and more than likely cannot be corrected in a natural way. Like people, we all have our genetic faults. If in your case the animal hooves are naturally prone to being this way then your farrier needs to do all he/she can to maintaining as much heel as possible and perhaps use a hoof builder if needed. Now on the other side of the coin, poor trimming or shoeing from an incompetent farrier can bring about this scenario, if this is the case, then of course it can be corrected within a few shoeing cycles. However: if this is the case; you may be required to make the tough decision as to whether or not you have the right farrier with the right skill sets. Best of luck with this dilemma.



Don